Additional Links

Yankees on alert as Hunley surfaces in New York

Jun 4 2013 12:10 am

File/Associated Press
The H.L. Hunley Traveling Exhibit alarmed motorists last week as it pass through New York City on its way to Connecticut for a Civil War show at Mystic Seaport. Local, state and federal authorities had to track down the replice of the Confederate sub after folks worried terrorists were bringing a torpedo to town.

Obviously, the South is the only place where old times are not forgotten.

On Friday afternoon, a New York motorist called police with a tip about a potential terror threat. Seems someone was hauling a suspicious-looking object — it resembled a torpedo — on the highways around the city.

Before long 30 agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, were searching for this potential menace.

Even Coast Guard cutters in the area were on the lookout, since the thing looked sort of like a boat.

They should have set the terror color chart to Rebel Gray, because they were just hunting for a bunch of good ol’ boys from Summerville hauling a replica of the H.L. Hunley to Connecticut for the weekend.

“It’s pretty bad when four Confederates and a replica of the Hunley can cause all this,” says Mark Clark, general manager of the exhibit. “Maybe they were worried we were here to get them back.”

You know, this is the most trouble the Hunley has caused Yankees in nearly 150 years.

Educate, not destruct

The H.L. Hunley Traveling Exhibit has been cruising American highways for more than a decade.

In all that time, it hasn’t sunk any U.S. warships, although it did get a flat tire outside of Atlanta last year.

The sub model, built by John Dangerfield, is a life-size iron replica of the first successful combat submarine in history.

These days, the exhibit is its own charitable education organization, set up by the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ H.L. Hunley camp in Summerville. It travels from California to Connecticut, Mississippi to Tennessee, teaching folks about the Hunley and its attack on the USS Housatonic outside Charleston on Feb. 17, 1864.

Apparently, it’s missed a few folks in New York.

Because for a while Friday and Saturday, local, state and federal authorities spent an inordinate amount of time looking for the replica.

“I’ve heard a lot of things, a lot of strange stories related to this project over the years, but this is the best one,” says Kellen Correia, executive director of Friends of the Hunley.

Yeah, since the Hunley very briefly became a weapon of mass distraction.

No tolls

Investigators finally turned up a surveillance photo of the Hunley exhibit rolling through a toll booth.

That was the first clue something was not amiss. Terrorists don’t use toll booths.

Except maybe in “Blazing Saddles.”

New York police eventually called the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, home of the Hunley. They were able to direct authorities to Clark.

Clark says the police were extremely nice when they reached him by phone in Connecticut on Saturday. That’s probably because, by that time, they realized that a hand-cranked submarine bolted to a flat-bed trailer wasn’t much of a threat to the Big Apple.

In fact, the Hunley Traveling Exhibit was at a Civil War show at Mystic Seaport — where it was received warmly, by the way. No hard feelings among Connecticut Yankees.

Clark told New York police when the exhibit would be coming back through, gave them his license tag number. They didn’t offer an escort, but they didn’t try to set up another blockade, either.

On Monday, New York Police did not even remember the incident but said, “We get a lot of bizarre calls here.”

You think?

The upshot is the Hunley got a little publicity, and may have educated a few folks — which is the replica’s purpose.

Not to blow up New York.

Reach Brian Hicks at bhicks@postandcourier.com. Tune in to his live chat Wednesday at 11 a.m. at www.postandcourier.com.

Comments

Notice about comments:

The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point.

We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click the X that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. This will send the comment to Facebook for review. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full terms and conditions.